neepheid

I've seen people play amazing sets using Squiers and a rag tag assortment of amps and cabs. I would gig a £200 Squier Affinity without batting an eyelid and feel nothing but pity for anyone who looks down on me for it. Honi soit qui mal y pense, and all that. Some may point out that I have a USA G&L but as it's an L-1000 (a bass I had admired for some time) I didn't have much of a choice. There is no Tribute model - hell, for the longest time there wasn't even an option to buy one new. But if there had been a Tribute L-1000, I'd have saved myself the best part of a grand and got that instead, Tributes are fine* basses. Tangent alert! *Fine as in wine, not fine as in "acceptable". Also see use of the word fine in NE Scotland - pronounced a certain way means "very good indeed" instead of merely acceptable, often prefixed with "fit" (what) - the delightfully alliterative interjection "fit fine!" (often heard after telling someone you're having mince and tatties for tea) can be loosely translated into "very good!", "Aw man, you lucky so-and-so, I wish I was having mince and tatties for tea" or the rhetorical "how good is that?". Want another bonus NE Scotland thing? The word "rare" can be used in a similar way. Very confusing when applied to commonly occurring items. "I played a rare Squier Affinity P bass the other day" ... Also it is theoretically possible up here to have a RARE well done steak - although you should be having it medium at the very most, you heathen

Passive tone? 100%, almost always, save for when I remember the knob exists, turn it to 0%, remind myself how much I dislike the (imo) shapeless mush that comes out then go back to 100%

I can't make what I'm trying to say any clearer. If I've misinterpreted you or misrepresented something you wrote then I apologise. I'll go back to doing what I've been doing for the last 13 years without issues and stop interfering in what other folk do for their muting needs

I can't imagine you're seriously suggesting that I haven't already figured that out for myself so think I need to say what I said in a different way. You mentioned the fact that a pedal tuner mutes you then unmutes you with no difference to your volume setting on the bass and this would be difficult to achieve with the volume knob. I agree, but my point is that if you use the volume knob like I do (basically as an on/off switch) then the difficulty of returning to your previous volume setting with the volume knob is eliminated, hence eliminating this advantage of using the tuner pedal to mute your bass. Ok?

This only applies if you habitually use your volume knob at settings other than zero or max. The only time it's not on zero or max is when I'm doing a fade in/out (it's so infrequent I can't be bothered getting a volume pedal)

I think I said in many more words than necessary that the aesthetic is the only consideration as far as my sausage fingers are concerned.

I've had a little think about it and I have to come to the conclusion that the reason I don't notice differences in fretboard material is (relative) incompetence. Don't get me wrong, I play to a reasonable standard, but I'm lazy and I only play when I've got a reason to - a gig, a rehearsal, learning new songs. When I'm playing, I have to concentrate in the foreground of my brain that bit more than someone who plays more often than me, so I don't have spare capacity to take in the tactile scenery as I move around the fretboard. Unlike bass (an activity I partake in at most a few times a week for about the last 13 years) I've been driving for at least 28 years and have done it almost daily in that time so as a consequence I think I've become quite good at it in that natural way that good/enviable players make it seem when they're playing - things like what gear to be in, keeping the car in the direction it should be going have become background tasks so I can have spare capacity to appreciate how the car is driving, how different vehicles feel etc. Sorry for derailing the thread with this waffle. Back to the boards!

I'm sure someone will be along shortly to tell you that you're wrong.

I'm not at a point in my life where bass weight is a significant issue, but there have been times when the hollow body has come in handy - like the time I bruised my ribs and had back to back gigs on the same night - the light weight was very much appreciated Mind you, it's been a while since I've owned a 12lb+ boat anchor with strings - am I still strong enough to endure it?

That's really unlucky, sorry to hear that

Am I abnormal that I've played rosewood, maple, ebony and pao ferro boards and found not one jot of difference between them all beyond the aesthetic? Am I incompetent? Am I fortunate? Edit: forgot laurel.

I've just skim read this whole thing. All I got from this thread is Thierry, ça suffit! C'est mauvais pour les dents. Yes, because someone wrote bof.

This is my last daft addition to this thread, I promise. Do you do a thing where you read the subject of a thread before entering the thread and if it's a question come up with a quick answer before going in? Maybe it's just me but when I read "G&L - but which one" the first thing that came to my head was "Interceptor"

I'd like to add that I've got nothing against the SB-2, I owned a Tribute SB-2 and got on with it fine. One of my favourite stories (I'm sure I've mentioned it before) was one time when soundchecking with the SB-2 for a gig, the signal was so hot the sound engineer asked me if the bass was active

As I've just mentioned, I think I've gone off on a tangent, sorry.

Ahh, sorry, I read your comment in isolation so it came across like the SB-2 was interchangeable with the LB-100. Must. Read. Everything.

Yes (SB-2 vs. LB-100) Different pickups (MFD vs. trad alnico) Different number of pickups (2 vs. 1) Different controls (VV vs. VT) Different necks (slimmer vs. wider nut) Different body shape That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

Why? It's a different bass.

Oh, now that's pretty. Not sure how I feel about the tort, but that's a lovely shade of blue.

Which brands do it for me? G&L, Gibson (in spite of everything), Epiphone, Yamaha. Not averse to trying anything if I like the look of it, regardless of how Gibson-centric I may have appeared in the past.

Is one switch too many? I ask because that's how many the L-1000 has. Did you mean 2000? G&L are only underrated by poor unfortunates who don't know any better, bless 'em. I for one quite like that they fly under the radar a bit - adds to the mystique

It only counts if you're being pedantic. It /shouldn't/ be influencing your tone beyond the imperceptible so I don't think it matters if it's between you and the amp.

Not I, I like my overdrive. Only took me 2 pedals to find one I liked so I think I got off pretty lightly. I'm going to run away now - I don't want to get sucked into a echo/delay/flanger/chorus whirlpool!

It's a pretty simple fix